Whenever Facebook decides to make big changes, it’s usually to the chagrin of users who are perfectly happy with things the way they are. Alas, change is a constant when it comes to social networks, where the rule of the cyber-jungle seems to be that if you stand still too long, you’ll be eclipsed by the next big thing. In its bid to retain its crown as the most frequently used and heavily populated social media platform in the world, Facebook has unveiled its long awaited Graph Search in order to improve brand discovery.
Originally floated in January of 2013, Graph Search claims to revolutionize the way that users search for information on Facebook. But the truly valuable aspect of Graph Search is how it can help infuse company brands with increased visibility. Here’s a quick rundown on how it works, and how businesses can leverage Graph Search to their advantage and improve brand discovery.
User interface changes are minimal in the latest Facebook tweak, and that’s a good thing – although a minor rearrangement of where users will find their inbox and notifications has taken place. Instead of appearing on the top left of the user’s Facebook page, messages and friend requests and notifications have been moved to the top right. This has been done to make room for the Graph Search field itself, which has been prominently positioned in the top left corner.
Before the implementation of Graph Search, Facebook’s search results typically yielded poor results with very little relevancy to a user’s search parameters. Now, users can key in a variety of searches that deliver somewhat impressive results. For example, when a user types in the words “How many of my friends live in California?” the search results deliver
On the surface, this may seem like a trivial alteration to Facebook search that few will actually ever take advantage of. But there are additional inclusions to Graph Search that will serve to vastly improve the search and discovery of brands and services. For example, try keying in the words “Local night clubs.” Search results will immediately populate with the Facebook pages of nearby night clubs.
To fill the prospective absence of actual profile page results, Facebook has integrated Bing! – the widely used Microsoft search engine – to provide additional search results. The key driving force behind Facebook’s decision to do this is incredibly simple: to keep users from leaving Facebook to seek out what they’re looking for. Incorporating its own built-in search engine that brings in search results from Bing! accomplishes just that.
The end result is a seamless user experience – but already, marketing experts are pointing out the fact that Graph Search may also a boon for businesses seeking to improve the visibility of their brand. By creating even more avenues for potential customers to discover a company’s goods or services, Facebook has positioned itself as the truly indispensible social media tool. The bottom line is, Twitter can’t do what Graph Search can. Neither can MySpace (revamps for cooler interfaces aside). Perhaps Google Plus can, but who uses that? At the moment, all eyes are on Facebook... and all mouse pointers are inside the Graph Search.
If you operate a business and are eager to make the most of what Facebook Graph Search can do for your brand’s visibility, the time has never been better to launch an aggressive social media campaign. Those without the experience or the time necessary to operate a full scale social marketing campaign can hire short term help from freelance marketing firms or individual agents seeking freelance marketing opportunities. Contact us today to learn more.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.